exact

verb ex·act \ ig-ˈzakt \

|Updated on: 13 Aug 2018

Tip: Synonym Guide

Examples: exact in a Sentence

Editor's Note: Do you exact or extract revenge?

Definition of exact

exacted; exacting; exacts

transitive verb

1 : to call for forcibly or urgently and obtain

from them has been exacted the ultimate sacrifice
—D. D. Eisenhower

2 : to call for as necessary or desirable

—

exactable

play \ig-ˈzak-tə-bəl\ adjective

—

exactor

or less commonly exacter play \ig-ˈzak-tər\ noun

See exact defined for English-language learners

See exact defined for kids

exact was our Word of the Day on 11/24/2013. Hear the podcast!

Examples of exact in a Sentence

They would not rest until they had exacted revenge.
He was able to exact a promise from them.

Recent Examples of exact from the Web

Kreis’ final game as head coach was against Montreal two weeks ago, and Orlando City gets a chance to exact a measure of revenge against the Impact.

— jordan culver, Pro Soccer USA, "Orlando City returns home to face Montreal Impact after five-match road trip," 22 June 2018
Photo: daniel acker/Reuters Soybeans The trade fight is exacting a heavy toll on U.S. soybean farmers.

— WSJ, "From Seafood to Mattresses: How the Latest Tariffs Would Affect U.S. Businesses," 12 July 2018
Ayton exacted a measure of revenge Monday night, leading the Phoenix Suns over Bamba’s Orlando Magic 71-53 in a summer league game at UNLV’s Thomas & Mack Center.

— josh robbins, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Phoenix Suns' Deandre Ayton shines against Mo Bamba's Orlando Magic," 10 July 2018
Perhaps better than anyone, Warriors coach Steve Kerr understands the grind, both mental and physical, so many deep playoff runs can exact on a franchise.

— k.c. johnson, chicagotribune.com, "Warriors' dominance should be celebrated, not criticized," 3 July 2018
Not everyone enjoyed the tutelage of a charismatic teacher who was part exacting literary conscience, part Pied Piper.

— The Economist, "Capturing the voice of a brilliant, unorthodox teacher of literature," 28 June 2018
The emotional and physical toll exacted on these young men have led to terrible tragedies.

— helene elliott, latimes.com, "Two former hockey players sue the league, claiming it didn't warn about CTE," 22 June 2018
Trump expressed outrage Thursday about the toll exacted on some people close to him.

— BostonGlobe.com, "For many, a ride on the Trump train ends in derailment," 27 Apr. 2018
Collet-Serra’s rich depiction of train life is a sensory plunge into the hustling chaos that is exacting in its precision.

— katie walsh, idahostatesman, "‘The Commuter’ gives visceral look into train life, but ultimately derails," 11 Jan. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'exact.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Do you exact or extract revenge?

The verb exact (as in, "exacting revenge" or "exacting a promise") is not as commonly encountered as the adjective exact, (as in "an exact copy" or "exact measurements"). Sometimes people will mistakenly use the more common verb extract when they really want exact. Extract can refer to removing something by pulling or cutting or to getting information from someone who does not want to give it. While both words refer to getting something they are used in different ways. You extract a tooth, but you exact revenge.

Did You Know?

Exact derives from a form of the Latin verb exigere, meaning "to drive out, to demand, or to measure." (Another descendant of exigere is the word exigent, which can mean "demanding" or "requiring immediate attention.") Exigere, in turn, was formed by combining the prefix ex- with the verb agere, meaning "to drive." Agere has been a very prolific source of words for English speakers; it is the ancestor of agent, react, mitigate, and navigate, just to name a few. Incidentally, if you are looking for a synonym of the verb exact, you could try demand, call for, claim, or require.

Origin and Etymology of exact

Middle English exacten "to require as payment," borrowed from Latin exāctus, past participle of exigere "to drive out, achieve, enforce payment of or the performance of (a task), require, inquire into, examine" from ex- ¹ex- + agere "to drive (cattle), be in motion, do, perform" — more at agent

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1564

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

exact Synonyms

Synonym Discussion of exact

demand, claim, require, exact mean to ask or call for something as due or as necessary. demand implies peremptoriness and insistence and often the right to make requests that are to be regarded as commands.

- demanded payment of the debt

claim implies a demand for the delivery or concession of something due as one's own or one's right.

- claimed the right to manage his own affairs

require suggests the imperativeness that arises from inner necessity, compulsion of law or regulation, or the exigencies of the situation.

- the patient requires constant attention

exact implies not only demanding but getting what one demands.

- exacts absolute loyalty

exact

adjective

Definition of exact

1 : exhibiting or marked by strict, particular, and complete accordance with fact or a standard

2 : marked by thorough consideration or minute measurement of small factual details

—

exactness

play \ig-ˈzak(t)-nəs\ noun

See exact defined for English-language learners

Examples of exact in a Sentence

Those were his exact words.
The exact cause of the fire is still under investigation.
We don't know the exact nature of the problem.
Predicting the path of hurricanes is not an exact science.
The police have an exact description of the killer.
Please take the most exact measurements possible.
He is very exact in the way he solves a problem.

Recent Examples of exact from the Web

There was a time when a majority of local high school teams — 42 to be exact — were involved in a season that concludes with the Phil Lawler Summer Classic.

— pat disabato, Daily Southtown, "Disabato: As travel schedules continue to expand, high school baseball teams feeling the summer squeeze," 13 July 2018
What’s more, all of those insertions would be personalized, so no two viewers see the same exact thing.

— ralf jacob, Fortune, "AI Is About to Make Video Ads a Lot Less Annoying," 26 June 2018
The exact date of the inevitable breakup remains unknown.

— alana massey, Curbed, "How an unexpected Airbnb guest helped me get over a breakup," 22 June 2018
Anyway, let’s talk about how Dolores, Maeve, Bernard, and the Man in Black have basically been doing the exact same things for, like, three episodes now.

— todd vanderwerff, Vox, "Is Westworld moving forward or going in circles?," 18 June 2018
Right now, a trio of Joya candles are cheaper than usual — 20 percent off to be exact — at Dermstore.

— the editors, The Strategist, "The Official Candle of Every Other Brooklyn Boutique Is on Sale," 14 June 2018
Night City, to be exact, a sprawling dystopia set somewhere in future Northern California.

— hayden dingman, PCWorld, "Cyberpunk 2077: What we learned in the most mind-blowing game demo we've ever seen," 13 June 2018
Almost the exact same thing had happened about four years earlier.

— ian cummings, kansascity, "Years before deadly police chase, Independence paid $767K for nearly identical wreck," 12 June 2018
The exact same thing can be said about the Brewers, a team that has gone to the playoffs four times, in 1981, 1982, 2008 and 2011, and only been to one World Series, with zero titles.

— jr radcliffe, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Brewers fans, if you had to pick one, who do you despise more? Cardinals or Cubs?," 12 June 2018

Origin and Etymology of exact

borrowed from Latin exāctus, from past participle of exigere "to drive out, achieve, require, inquire into, examine, measure" — more at ¹exact

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1533

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

exact Synonyms

Synonyms

delicate, fine, finespun, hairline, hairsplitting, minute, nice, nuanced, refined, subtle;

Antonyms

coarse, inexact, rough;

Near Antonyms

apparent, clear, clear-cut, evident, manifest, obvious, open-and-shut, palpable, patent, perspicuous, plain, transparent, unambiguous, unequivocal, unmistakable;

broad, indefinite;

careless, heedless, incautious, slapdash, slipshod, sloppy;

Related Words

nitpicking, quibbling;

frivolous, inconsequential, inconsiderable, insignificant, negligible, petty, piddling, trifling, trivial;

demanding, exacting, fastidious, finical, finicking, finicky, fussy, meticulous, particular, picky;

Synonym Discussion of exact

correct, accurate, exact, precise, nice, right mean conforming to fact, standard, or truth. correct usually implies freedom from fault or error.

- correct answers
- socially correct dress

accurate implies fidelity to fact or truth attained by exercise of care.

- an accurate description

exact stresses a very strict agreement with fact, standard, or truth.

- exact measurements

precise adds to exact an emphasis on sharpness of definition or delimitation.

- precise calibration

nice stresses great precision and delicacy of adjustment or discrimination.

- makes nice distinctions

right is close to correct but has a stronger positive emphasis on conformity to fact or truth rather than mere absence of error or fault.

- the right thing to do

EXACT Defined for English Language Learners

exact

verb

Definition of exact for English Language Learners

: to demand and get (something, such as payment or revenge) especially by using force or threats
—used in phrases like exact a terrible toll and exact a high/heavy price to say that something has caused a lot of suffering, loss, etc.

exact

adjective

Definition of exact for English Language Learners

: fully and completely correct or accurate
: very careful and accurate

EXACT Defined for Kids

exact

adjective ex·act \ ig-ˈzakt \

Definition of exact for Students

: completely correct or precise : accurate

an exact copy

the exact time

—

exactly

adverb

—

exactness

noun

exact

verb

Definition of exact for Students

exacted; exacting

: to demand and get by force or threat

They exacted terrible revenge.

Learn More about exact

See words that rhyme with exact Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for exact Spanish Central: Translation of exact Nglish: Translation of exact for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of exact for Arabic speakers

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exact

Definition of exact

exactable

exactor

exact was our Word of the Day on 11/24/2013. Hear the podcast!

Examples of exact in a Sentence

Recent Examples of exact from the Web

Do you exact or extract revenge?

Did You Know?

Origin and Etymology of exact

exact Synonyms

Synonyms

Antonyms

Near Antonyms

Related Words

Synonym Discussion of exact

exact

Definition of exact

exactness

Examples of exact in a Sentence

Recent Examples of exact from the Web

Origin and Etymology of exact

exact Synonyms

Synonyms

Antonyms

Near Antonyms

Related Words

Synonym Discussion of exact

Phrases Related to EXACT

Related Phrases

EXACT Defined for English Language Learners

exact

Definition of exact for English Language Learners

exact

Definition of exact for English Language Learners

EXACT Defined for Kids

exact

Definition of exact for Students

exactly

exactness

exact

Definition of exact for Students

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